Nigella Lawson: Since Grillo Trial I Have Eaten A Lot Of Chocolate And Had A Good Christmas

PA/The Huffington Post UK

Good Morning America

Nigella Lawson has spoken out about how "mortifying" it was to appear in court and have details of her acrimonious split from millionaire art dealer Charles Saatchi discussed.

The TV chef, who gave an interview on US TV show Good Morning America said: "To have not only your private life but distortions of your private life put on display is mortifying, but there are people going through an awful lot worse and to dwell on any of it would be self pity and I don't like to do that."

But she added: "Actually since then I've eaten a lot of chocolate, had a very good Christmas and am into the New Year," the food writer added.

Nigella Lawson was promoting her new show in the states

Ms Lawson was on air to promote her new show The Taste, broadcast in America and here on Channel 4, but was also asked about last year's court case at Isleworth Crown Court in west London.

She said her "only desire" during the trial of her and ex-husband Charles Saatchi's personal assistants was to protect her children but "alas I couldn't always do".

Asked what it was like to be a witness in the trial of Elisabetta and Francesca Grillo, who were acquitted, Lawson told the programme: "I can't really remember exactly because you're so focused on answering the questions to the best of your ability that actually you don't really have an enormous awareness of yourself.

During the trial she accused art gallery owner Mr Saatchi, whom she divorced last summer, of threatening to "destroy" her.

She said that, despite doing her civic duty, she was "maliciously vilified without the right to respond".

The Grillos had been accused of fraudulently using company credit cards, spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on designer goods for themselves while working as personal assistants to the celebrity couple.

But the Italian sisters claimed every purchase had been approved by their then-bosses and were found not guilty after jurors deliberated for nine hours.